Love thy neighbour: Social identity and public support for humanitarian aid

Humanitarian aid can be contentious. Should finite national resources be sacrificed to serve the needy abroad? Social identity theorists argue that identification with a superordinate group, in this case the larger world community, should increase individual support for policies such as international humanitarian assistance. However, individuals can simultaneously associate with multiple identities. How does the combination of world and national identities affect support for humanitarian assistance? Using cross‐national survey data, we find evidence that support for international humanitarian aid is highest among those with a strong world identity and weak national identity relative to other identity combinations, though even those with a strong world identity and strong national identity can be supportive of aid.     

Responses to global challenges: trends in aid‐financed global public goods

Based on four decades (1973–2013) of OECD‐Development Assistance Committee aid to developing countries, this article aims to show aid‐financed global public goods trends, their changing composition and their main drivers. In particular, a constant increase in the share of aid‐financed global public goods and a shift towards weighted‐sum and weakest‐link global goods are observed. Economic conditions, imitation effects, global engagement and domestic spending result as the main drivers of donors’ demand for aid‐financed global public goods. Besides, a certain complementarity in the provision of global goods plays a role, especially in European countries and Japan, partially easing the prognosis for the collective action problems related to global goods     

Making international aid effective: An agenda for aligning aid to social business

In the context of heightened interest in social business and a renewed focus on the performance of international aid, this article explores the role and place of aid in addressing poverty in relation to the rapidly growing social business regime. Research on the subject is surprisingly limited. The article begins by operationalizing the key concepts, and developing a conceptual framework by exploring the possible nexus points between aid alignment and social business. It then addresses a number of key dimensions of aid; notably, a comparative account of possible aid investment in social business vis‐à‐vis conventional projects and private sector enterprises; an examination of the realities on the ground of the social business projects; and policy implications of the study together with some recommendations.     

The use of Facebook for information seeking,decision support,and self-organization following a significant disaster

The wide-spread proliferation of the Internet has revolutionized the ways that individuals obtain, interpret, and respond to information in the aftermath of disaster. An F3 tornado that impacted the community of Goderich, Ontario, on 21 August 2011 provided the opportunity to examine how people utilized Facebook and Facebook groups to seek out information, self-organize, and provide support. This mixed-methods project was conducted in two phases. First, semi-structured interviews (n?=?35) were conducted with Goderich area residents on their experiences using social media after the tornado. Next, all of the publicly available posts and replies on the Goderich Ontario Tornado Victims and Support (GOTVS) Facebook group were gathered and analysed using computer-assisted content analysis. The results demonstrate that Facebook was a highly influential source of information and support, particularly in the immediate aftermath of the disaster. Although misinformation and gossip occurred, the tendency was for the group to self-moderate inaccurate information. Public engagement by local officials may further reduce misinformation and encourage public confidence. The results also show that GOTVS activity significantly declined after two weeks. This abrupt decrease in public attention suggests that the window for engagement by public officials is narrow. As such, officials should have a social media plan in place so that they may engage with the public during the critical response phase when their participation may yield the greatest benefit. Finally, this research underscores the potential for analysing Facebook content using computer-assisted content analysis, a method that may be of interest across the social sciences.     

Public health policy and social support for immigrant mothers raising disabled children in Canada

A literature review regarding the social support of immigrant mothers of disabled children in Canada was undertaken with a focus on settings where supports need to be shored up. An integrative review of published papers and policy reports concerning key aspects of social supports for immigrant mothers and disabled children was undertaken. Immigrant mothers experience numerous barriers to social supports for themselves and their disabled children. Maternal immigrant populations experience unique challenges in the setting of childhood disability as well as the challenges of mothers in the dominant culture. There are negative impacts on maternal health as a result of inadequate policy offerings. Public health policy needs to be refashioned in light of weak systems and supports for both immigrant mothers and disabled children and to acknowledge that the current system poses concerning implications for the long-term health of both groups.     

The longitudinal development of students' well-being in adolescence: The role of perceived teacher autonomy support

Although a decline in adolescents' well-being has repeatedly been reported, longitudinal evidence for this development is rare and time-varying factors like teacher autonomy support that could be associated with this trend have sparsely been investigated. Therefore, the present study examined how the temporal development of perceived autonomy support from their German language arts teachers is related to changes in four different facets of students' well-being. Longitudinal data from 3446 adolescents from Germany (N_Schools = 178) on five measurement points (Grades 5–9) were analyzed using latent growth curve models. Satisfaction with school, enjoyment of school, and self-rated health decreased over time, while social integration remained stable. Perceived teacher autonomy support also declined between Grades 5 and 9. Furthermore, baseline levels of perceived teacher autonomy support and facets of well-being were positively related. Finally and most importantly, our results indicated that changes in perceived teacher autonomy support were positively associated with the development of satisfaction with school, enjoyment of school, and self-rated health, but not social integration. The findings suggest that perceived teacher autonomy support plays an important role in the development of students' well-being in adolescence.     

Enabling social support and resilience: outcomes of Family Group Conferencing in public mental health care

Family Group Conferencing (FGC) is a decision-making model where clients with their social network formulate their own plan. There is little experience with FGC in mental health care. We studied the outcomes of 41 conferences in a public mental health setting in the north of the Netherlands. We interviewed 312 respondents out of a total of 473 conference participants. In 33 cases, it was possible to obtain scores from 245 respondents on scales ranging from 0 to 10 about the situation prior and after the conference on three outcome measures, namely the quality of: (1) social support, (2) resilience and (3) living conditions. In the 33 cases, t-tests and multilevel analyses indicate on all of the three outcomes measures significant positive changes after the conferences. On average, the scores on the quality of social support (5.04–6.73), resilience (4.09–6.32) and the living conditions (3.73–6.64) had been increased since the conferences were organised. The results are modest but remarkable. That the impact of FGC is not more substantial can be explained. The clients referred to a conference in this particular study, mostly had a limited network and few recourses from whom little support could be expected.     

Unveiling the public procurement market in Brazil: A methodological tool to measure its size and potential

Public procurement plays a key role both in the proper functioning of public administration and in the realization of broader policy objectives. This article aims to present a methodology to assess the Brazilian public procurement market based on government statistics, as well as reflect on the potential of public procurement policy for the development of the country. The article found that public procurement comprised an average of 13.8% of Brazil's gross domestic product during 2006−2012. The Brazilian public procurement market is comparable to that of a typical Organisation for Economic Co‐operation and Development (OECD) country. These findings imply great potential for public procurement in Brazil as a policy instrument for promoting the country's development.     

Exploring trust and distrust as conceptually and empirically distinct constructs: Association with symmetrical communication and public engagement across four pairings of trust and distrust

Existing relationship research has interpreted low trust as being equivalent to high distrust and high trust as the evidence of low distrust, which has failed to capture the full scope of the functions of trust and distrust in organization–public relationships. Recent research in this area suggests that trust and distrust might simultaneously exist during relational interactions and might play uniquely positive and negative functions in certain social contexts. The main purpose of this study was to offer a new insight in trust–distrust research by providing distinctions in conceptualization and operationalization between trust and distrust. This study also empirically tested the functions of four pairings of trust and distrust on two core public relations concepts (i.e., symmetrical communication and public engagement). The results from the surveys (N = 704; in 20 companies) of US consumers showed sound discriminant validity of trust and distrust. Further, the statistical results revealed that symmetrical communication and public engagement were most strongly associated with the high trust and high distrust pairing, supporting the utilities of distrust in public relations and the coexistence of trust and distrust in social interactions.     

Building resilience to environmental problems in Kenya: lessons for aid organizations from three successful community-based processes

Vulnerable communities are disproportionately affected by environmental changes and problems. Developing interventions that aim to foster resilience by utilizing existing local strengths can support these communities. This study explored experiences of community resilience to environmental problems in Kenya. This article offers 3 successful processes of mutual support: culturally appropriate charity, community-based micro financing, and community-based fundraising. Lessons learned are offered, which can be supported by aid organizations to increase impact and reach.     

Foreign aid and the rule of law: Institutional diffusion versus legal reach

This paper examines the role of bilateral foreign aid in supporting the diffusion and enactment of common models and institutions of the rule of law among aid-recipient low- and middle-income countries. We ask whether aid targeted at security-sector reform and the rule of law influences the adoption of constitutional and legal reforms over time (institutional diffusion), and whether aid also supports more effective implementation of the rule of law, writ large (legal reach). We use event history and fixed-effects panel regression models to examine a sample of 154 countries between 1995 and 2013 to answer these questions. Our findings suggest that aid does increase the likelihood of adopting several rule of law reforms, but its effect on increasing the depth or quality of rule of law over time within countries is much less substantial. These findings suggest that though aid may play a role in supporting the diffusion of models contributing to state isomorphism among countries, it is less effective at increasing the pervasiveness and quality of such model’s implementation. This discrepancy between the effectiveness of bilateral aid in promoting law on the books versus law in action in aid recipient countries calls into question the current approach to rule of law reforms.     

The role of the partner in social support networks in Spain

Social support influences the subject’s well-being through various mechanisms. Literature shows that the partner is one of the main sources of social support. Nevertheless, sometimes people do not ask their partners first for help. Our aim is to determine what factors (values related to the family, personal characteristics and availability of resources) influence this decision. We use Spanish representative samples from International Social Survey Programme (2001) and Spain’s Center for Sociological Research (2010). Data show that family solidarity is widespread in Spanish society. The determinants for not turning first to the partner are the availability and frequent contact with immediate kin, whereas family values and personal characteristics are less relevant.     

Management of the international development aid system: The Case of Tanzania

This article tries to clarify Government behaviours as to how to manage aid in Tanzania. Contrary to the Organisation for Economic Co‐operation and Development (OECD) Development Assistance Committee (DAC) donor intentions, the development aid structure, carefully constructed under the poverty reduction regime in Tanzania, has led to Tanzanian‐owned initiatives toward a national development plan (NDP). Furthermore, this article shows that, in the process of creating an international development aid system, the Tanzanian Government has learned to manage aid in a recipient‐driven manner not only from DAC donors, but also from China.     

The role of ethnic identity in school engagement: perceptions of immigrant Tibetan adolescents in select US public schools

This purpose of the study was to ascertain the level of ethnic identity formation and its perceived role on school engagement for Tibetan adolescents enrolled in public schools in two Midwestern states in the USA. The journey of these students from culturally encapsulated schools from Nepal, Bhutan, and India to multiculturally diverse settings was one of the most fascinating facets of the Tibetan Diaspora. Subjects included 16 girls, 25 boys, and 2 who did not identify their gender. The multigroup ethnic identity measure was used to determine the level of ethnic identity formation of Tibetan students while a questionnaire gathered information on school engagement. The overall ethnic identity measure for this sample was high with a mean of 3.58, while the cognitive and affective aspect of the measure was also high with a mean of 3.56 and 3.74, respectively. The girls showed more emotional commitment to ethnic identity, as their mean score was 3.92, while boys scored 3.62. The results clearly corroborated findings and conclusions drawn by other scholars. School and community partnership contributed to the healthy ethnic identity development of adolescents who were thus encouraged to be more engaged in meaningful school activities.